Animal exterminator



Dec. 19, 1950 Filed July 19, 1946 R. J. COURTER 2,534,699

ANIMAL EXTERMINATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. fireman 1[ C 0 uaTER Dec.19, 1950 R. J. COURTER 2,534,699

ANIMAL EXTERMINATOR Filed July 19, 19 .6 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. rfilm- A20 r/T Cow; TEA

z/ijmm 47 Patented Dec. 19, 1950 UNITED STAT ES PATENT OFFICEEXTERMINATOR Richard J. Courter, Jewell, K'ans.

ApplicationJuly' 1 9, 1946,v Serial N 68417 15 6 Claims; 1

My invention relates to an animal extermina tor of the vermin class andmore particularly to the ground burrowing vermin, and has for one of:its objects, the construction of an exterminator that may be applied toor placed ina burrowformed by a. vermin, in such a way as to render theexterminator practically invisible owing to the material employed.

Another object of. the invention is to construct an exterminator fromprearranged material such as thin sheet metal and a razor blade of thesafety type, or improvised blade so long as the same can be made fromthin metal as the blade and carrier therefor will be positionedlongitudinally with the burrow, and willv provide an end view to. thevermin and not be easily discerned.

A still further object of my invention is to provide an inexpensivedevice wherein scraps of sheet metal or discarded safety razor bladesmay be employed. A further object of my invention is to arrange theparts thereof in such a wayas to maintain the device in a definiteoperative positionwhen placed in a bur-row. The arcuate support-will:lie in the bottom. of the burrow, conforming thereto and will avoidtipping; furthermore, on the approach of the vermin, the end of a thinrazor blade; may not beobserved until closely appreached, in whichinstance, the impulse for the vermin is tojump thereover or crowdthrough, in either instance; the keen cutting blade will fatally severthe vermin when its weight isimposed upon the blade, regardless thedirection of its slant, andif on theway outward, the test has proventhat rats, at least, will leave the premise, apparently tc'die from lossof blood. Such an exterminator is an effectual exterminator for rats asthey are inclined to become panicky.

These and other objects will hereinafter be more fully explained,reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of thisspecification, and in which like characters will apply to like parts inthe different views.

, Referring to the drawings:

. Fig. 1 is an application of the exterminator in a burrow.

.Fig.v 2 isan enlarged end view of the exterminator as installed in Fig.1.

Fig. 3 is a reduced side view of the exterminator having a pair ofblades slanting towards each other.

Fig. 4 is a side view showing the blade positioned in an arcuate body,while Fig. 5 is an end view thereof.

Fig. 6 is a side view of the exterminator, show- 2 ing the installationof a blade removably carried by the support, while Fig.- 7 isan endviewthereof, taken along the line Iii-Ill in: Fig. 6..

Fig. 8- is a plan view of: Fig. 6, the blade and holder therefor beingremoved As a more concise description of the exterminator, it will. beseen that the structure consists of a piece of sheet metal I of suitablelength and width, arcuate in form with respect to cross-section toconform with an average burrow of a vermin. S'aid arcuate sheet metal issevered intermediately of its length and a transversely'ceiiteredlongitudinal slot 9" is provided sufficient to receive a minor lengthportion of a safety; razor blade 2' in'sertibl'e therein and being.supported as shown and maybe integrally secured where it passes throughthe sheet.

The sheet metal may be arranged with two safety razor blades, in whichcase, the'blad'es will slant upward and towards each other so thatvermin traveling in either directionthrough its-burrow will comein'contact with the cutting edgeof the blades, which will gash the verminsufficient to producea constant flow of its blood. In such instance, thevermin will continue to travel, moving away from the" exterminator andperhaps outward from its burrow befcrebl'eedingto death; It has beendiscovered that the vermin travels in either direction through itsburrow and in contact with a single blade; the result is practicallythesame and the impulse" of a' vermin is tomove onward quickly, severingpractically the entire length ofthebowel region, whlch'is fatal to'thevermin. It is a-ls'opossible', should the vermin approach at either endof theblade, the tendency is to jump over such obstruction; and thefunction of the blade being similar to-that'of a dagger, sufficientlaceration is performed to sever major arteries that is fatal'to thevermin.

Certain modifications have been made as described be'low; It will beunderstood that the" razorblades" employed in the different views arethe same, and in some instances, the reinforcing means for the blade hasbeen removed entirely, while in other views; the reinforcing; meansremain and in others, p'a'rtlyloosened, but employed to' secure theblade.

In' Figs; 4 and 5', a conventional single edged blade 5 has a U-shapedreinforcing member's on its edge opposite said blades cutting edge 5'. Aportion of said member 6 is turned outward from each side of the bladeas at I, so that the exposed portion of the blade will extend throughslot 9' in a body 8 that is arcuate in cross section while the portionsof reinforcing members are turned back to lie on the convexity of thebody and pressed tightly thereon. Furthermore the notch 9 in the end ofthe blade is placed astraddle of the metal where one end of slot 9'terminates, as a result, the blade cannot be withdrawn or varied withrespect to its slant.

The blade I shown in Figs. 6 and 7 has not been altered or changed, andto secure the same in an operative position, there is provided a holderll U-shaped in form and in which the reinforcing means I2 of the bladewill slide longitudinally through the U-shaped formation, which issubstantially equal in length to that of the blade, the holder and bladeextending through the bottom of the arcuate body I3, while anotherportion of the holder is cut slantingly to form a two-ply web M toprovide lips l4 passing through the body and turning outward each waythereunder, and to avoid further movement through the body, the membersof the web are formed into a bead A as shown in Fig. 7, the outerprojection of which lies on the inner side of the arcuate body, whichgives a strong support for the upward slant of the blade. To avoid adownward rock of the .blade, it will be seen that the notch [5 willstraddle the metal of an opening I6 made through the bottom as shown inFig. 8, said opening being of sufiicient width at its longer portion toreceive the lower extremity of the blade and its reinforcing, while thenarrow portion is to receive the web seating therein and clinching belowas above described.

Preferably the blades are removably secured to the arcuate bodies forconvenience of transportation as the bodies may be nested while theblades and holders may be boxed separately, and such other modificationsmay be made as lie within the scope of the appended claims.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. In an animal exterminator, an elongated body semi-circular in crosssection and being made from thin sheet material, a safety razor blade,and a reinforcing means for said razor blade, said razor blade and saidreinforcing means being carried in the concave side of the body, saidblade being disposed in a plane perpendicular to a line drawn tangent tothe curved outer surface of said body, the blade extending through thebody at its longitudinal and transverse center, and a portion of saidreinforcing means being adapted to extend through the body, saidreinforcing means having a lateral bend whereby said blade is retainedin the said body.

2. An animal exterminator comprising the combination of a safety razorblade and an elongated body, said body being semi-circular or arcuate incross section and being made from thin sheet material, said safety razorblade being carried in the concave side of the body centrally thereof,one side and end portion of the blade extending through a longitudinalslot in the body as a means to support the blade perpendicular to a lineforming a tangent to the exterior surface of the arcuate body.

3. An animal exterminator comprising a safety razor blade, said bladehaving a cutting edge and a U-shaped reinforcing element to enclose theoppositely disposed edge of the blade, and a semi-circular or arcuatecasing structure to support the blade perpendicular to a line forming atangent to the exterior surf-ace of the arcuate structure and in theconcave side thereof, the casing structure having an elongated slotlongitudinally thereof to receive a corner portion of the blade, and aportion of said reinforcing element being adapted to extend through thearcuate structure, said reinforcing element having a lateral bendwhereby said blade is retained in said arcuate structure.

4. An animal exterminator comprising a body consisting of an elongatedpiece of sheet material arcuate in cross section, the concavity of whichis upwardly positioned, and a razor blade having reinforcing means onone of its side edges and a notch in one of its ends, a portion of saidside edge of the blade and reinforcing means extending through the bodyfrom its concave side and at the bodys longitudinal and transversecenter, while the other side edge of the blade is upwardly positionedand inclined with respect to the body longitudinally, and the portion ofthe reinforcing means extending through the body having lateral bendsadapted to coact with the notch of the blade to retain the blade fromdisplacement.

5. In an animal exterminator, a body, a safety razor blade having onecutting edge and an edge disposed opposite to said cutting edge, aU-shaped reinforcing element embracing said opposite razor blade edge,said body having a slot adapted to receive a corner portion of saidblade, and a portion of the reinforcing element received in the slothaving outturned end portions extending outwardly from the sides of theblade whereby the body is engaged therewith and the cutting edge of theblade is retained in said body extending upwardly and angularly withrespect to the longitudinal axis of the body.

6. The structure defined in claim 5 wherein said blade is provided witha notch extending inwardly from one of its ends adjacent the outturnedportions of the reinforcing element, said blade being adapted to engagesaid slot by means of said notch, whereby in cooperation with theoutturned portions of the reinforcing element, the cutting edge of theblade is disposed in a definite angular relation with respect to thelongitudinal axis of the body.

RICHARD J. COURTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 852,750 Wheeler May 7, 1907926,275 Merritt June 29, 1909 1,305,333 Anderson June 3, 1919 1,698,559Poole Jan. 8, 1929 2,086,234 Neidhart July 6, 1937 2,091,337 Sahl Aug.31, 1937

